Not Chef Boyardee There was a time in my life, preparing for qualifying exams in graduate school, when I ate nothing but cold Chef Boyardee canned ravioli straight out of the can for about a month. I am so happy that those days are behind me now, and in middle age I can take an …
Category Archives: Main Dishes
Spicy Thai pork salad
Great for company This has a lot of ingredients, so it takes a while to make. But you can do it ahead and have it ready when your guests show up, and it’s very pretty to serve. Plus, it’s gluten and lactose free, if that’s an issue. This would be hard without a food processor, …
Sole and chive oil
Fresh chives In early spring, chives are one of the first fresh greens you may have growing in your garden. Chives are easy enough even for me to grow: plant them once, and they just come back every spring, and they spread too so there are more every year. You’ll need a couple of good …
Shrimp quenelles
Fish meatballs French people call these quenelles but most Americans might think of them as fish meatballs, or as fish-flavored matzo balls. So whatever. A way to make fish a little fancier. Or, looked at another way, a way to make fish stretch a little further. How to make shrimp quenelles: Put on a large …
Shakshuka
What’s a shakshuka? It’s a common breakfast all over North Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean: spicy tomato sauce with eggs broken into it, basically. This version adds vegetables and cheese to make it filling enough for dinner, because life is too short to make complicated things for breakfast very often. But this makes a quick, …
Scallops primavera
Are scallops sustainable? Yes! Scallops, whether wild or farmed, are a “best choice” according to the Monterey Aquarium’s ratings. Plus, they’re a good source of protein, vitamins, and calcium, and very low fat. Doesn’t primavera mean spring? Yes, it does, but you make scallops primavera with zucchini and tomatoes, and actually zucchini and tomatoes don’t …
Salade Niçoise
Salad for dinner? If it’s hot, sometimes a cold dinner is just what you want. This one can be served warm or cold. How to make salade Niçoise: Start by making homemade bread to serve on the side. While the bread is rising and the oven preheating, make three hard-boiled eggs: gently place three eggs in a …
Roast chicken
People make it complicated You can find all kinds of instructions for roasting chicken and they’ll tell you to turn the temperature up and down, or turn the chicken around in the oven, or cover the chicken and uncover it. But really, if you don’t do any of those things, your chicken will still be …
Ratatouille
“Like a Braque still-life” I’ve always liked the description of ratatouille in the Joy of Cooking where she says that the bright colors all together look like “a Braque still-life”. It’s true that ratatouille is a beautiful thing to put in front of guests, and you can make it before they arrive and leave it …
Rabbit stew
Old Friends When I had just moved to France, at nine years old, and was just beginning to speak good French, one girl in my class was willing to be my friend. We left after a year for the States again, but when we came back to France when I was thirteen, the same girl …